Refrigerating apparatus



April 19, 1949. B. GREEN REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJuly 27, 1945 INVENTOR. Les 5. GEEEN BY 7PM zm a/zn flrroelvsxs April1949. L. B. GREEN 2,467,427

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Jui 27, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.LEE 5. Gees/v BY 1M; w/fida'm H r Toe/vs 7-5 Patented Apr. 19, 1949UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,467,427 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Lee B.Green, Lakewood, Ohio Application July 27, 1945, Serial No. 607,299

9 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and as one of itsobjects aims to provide an improved construction for refrigeratingapparatus of the type having a freezing section and a storage sectionand wherein a more efficient and satisfactory cooling of the storagesection is obtained by utilizing for this purpose a portion of thecooling effect produced in the freezing section.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedrefrigerating apparatus having sections or chambers which are operatedat different temperatures and one of which is operated at a relativelylow or below-freezing temperature, and wherein a single refrigeratingunit serves the low temperature section and the cooling of the storagesection is obtained from the low temperature section by a circulation ofa thermal transfer fluid therebetween.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved dualchamber and dual temperature refrigerator of the character mentioned, inwhich air is circulated around the low temperature chamber and around orthrough the other chamber for transferring to the latter a portion ofthe cooling effect of the low temperature chamber.

A further object is to provide improved refrigerating apparatus of thecharacter mentioned, in which automatically operating means is employedfor producing and controlling the circulation of the thermal transferfluid between the dual temperature sections or chambers.

The invention can be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described andparticularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing refrigerating apparatus embodyingthe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale,showing certain valve means embodied in the refrigerating apparatus ofFigs. 1 and 2, and

Fig. 4 is another partial vertical sectional view further illustratingthis valve means.

As one embodiment of the present invention, the accompanying drawingsshow a refrigerator III comprising a housing or cabinet II containing aplurality of refrigerating sections. In this instance the housing I Icontains two such sections of which the section I Ia is a so-calledfreezing section ccntaining a chamber or compart- 2 ment I2 and thesection IIb is a storage section containing a chamber or compartment I3.

The chamber I2 is a combined freezing and storage chamber in whichproduce, such as articles of food, can be subjected to a freezingoperation or treatment on the order of the socallcd quick-freezing ordeep-freezing treatments, and in which such treated produce or foods canbe stored in their frozen condition for an indefinite period. Thechamber I3 is a storage chamber as distinguished from a freezing chamberand is intended for use in storing articles of food and the like in aplace where access thereto can be readily had and at a temperature whichwill maintain the articles in a fresh and wholesome condition. Thestorage section III) and the chamber I3 thereof are intended to serve apurpose corresponding with that of a domestic refrigerator to whichfrequent access is had as a food storage box for containing foods andthe like intended for daily consumption.

The housing I I is of a suitable type of construction having thermallyinsulated outer walls and can be of any desired size or shape. In theparticular form of housing here shown the freezing section IIa is of arelatively low height and the storage section III) is relatively tall.The housing may also be provided with a base I4 which is engag'eablewith a floor or other surface upon which the refrigerator is to stand.The section Ila has a top opening which is closed by a hinged orremovable cover I5 and the section I ID has a front opening which isclosed by a hinged door I6. The section Ila is preferably of a heightsuch that the top or cover I5 of this section can be used as a table andthe section II b is preferably spaced above the base I4 at a heightwhich is convenient for inserting or removing articles from the storagechamber I3 and also to provide a space or compartment I'I therebelow inwhich a refrigerating unit I8 is housed.

The freezing section II a has thermally insulated outer side and bottomwalls I9 and 20 and is provided with an inner container C in which thefreezing chamber I2 is located and whose side and bottom walls 2| and 22are spaced from the outer walls by an intervening air space 23. Thefreezing chamber I2 is cooled by heatexchange means H embodied in thewall or walls of the inner container and to which a cooling medium issupplied from the refrigerating unit I8. In this instance theheat-exchange means is formed by the side walls 2| of the innercontainer and corrugated walls 25 attached thereto so as to define aspace 26 extending around some or all of the sides of the innercontainer and to which the cooling medium can be supplied. From theconstruction just described above it will be understood that the airspace 23 is located outside of the freezing chamber i2 so as to extendacross the bottom and around one or more sides thereof, and that theheat-exchange means forms a partition between this air space and thefreezing chamber.

If desired, the inner container of the freezing section lia can beconstructed so as to provide an additional small compartment 28 in thefreezing chamber 12 for the reception of trays or the like for freezingice cubes, desserts, and similar concoctions.

The cooling effect in the freezing section lid is obtained by theoperation of the refrigerating unit l8 which can be of any suitable typeor construction. In this instance this unit is shown as being of themechanical type comprising a compressor. 36 driven by an electric motor3i and a condenser 32, which is located between and connected with thecompressor and a refrigerant receiver 33. The receiver 33 is suitablyconnected with the space 26 of the heatexchange means by a conduit 34containing an expansion valve or device 35. The operation of therefrigerating unit I8 is controlled automatically by means of athermostat 36 located at a suitable point in the freezing section llasuch as in the air space 23 at the bottom of the freezing chamber l2.The thermostat includes an electric switch 31 operably associatedtherewith and embodied in the control circuit for the electric motor 3|.

As shown in the drawing, the storage section lib has thermally insulatedtop, bottom and side walls 38,. 38 and 46 which define the storagechamber i3. The bottom wall 39 also forms the top of the machinerycompartment H. The lower portion of one of the side walls 40 also formsthe upper portion of one of the side walls of the freezing section lidand this common wall portion, designated 42 in the drawings, extendsbetween the freezing chamber l2 and the storage chamber i3 from thefront to the back of these chambers.

As already indicated in'a general way above, the cooling of the storagechamber i3 is obtained by utilizing a portion of the cooling effectproduced in the freezing section lid and this is accomplished bycirculating a thermal transfer fluid, preferably air, between thefreezing and storage sections. To this end the housing II is constructedfor the circulation of such exchange fluid or air around the freezingchamber l2 and around or through the storage chamber l3. The flow ofsuch air through the freezing section Ila is accommodated by the abovedescribed air space 23.

To provide for this flow of air around or through the storage chamberl3, the storage section lib is constructed with an inner bottom wall 44spaced from the outer bottom wall 39 and an upright inner wall 45 spacedfrom the upright outer wall 46 so as to provide between these spacedinner and outer walls a transverse air passage 46 and an upright airpassage 41. If desired, a similar transverse air passage can be providedat the top of the storage chamber I3 and similar upright air passagescan be provided at the rear and other side wall. The upright inner wallor walls 46 preferably extend close to but stop short of the top wall 36of the storage chamber l3 so as to leave or define at this point an airdischarge slot 48 which opens into the upper end of the storage chamber.

The air space or spaces 23 of the freezing section i la and the passages46 and 41 of the storage section i lb constitute portions of an aircirculating path by which air is circulated as a transfer fluid betweenthe freezing section Ila and the storage section lib as mentioned above.This air circulating path also includes a lower delivery or connectingpassage 60 and an upper or return connecting passage Stand which supplyand return passages are formed in the common wall portion 42 whichextends from the front to the back of the housing between the freezingand storage chambers i2 and i3. The lower passage 50 connects the lowerend of the storage chamber l3 with the freezing section lie at arelatively low point of the latter and the upper passage 5i connects arelatively higher point of the storage chamber with the freezing sectionat a point adjacent the upper end of the latter. The connection of thelower passage 56 with the storage chamber i3 is through the aircirculating passage thereof which includes the transverse air passage 46and 9. depending small chamber or extension 62 to which furtherreference will presently be made. When the air circulating passage ofthe storage chamber i3 extends more completely around this chamber, thereturn connecting passage ii is connected with the circulating passageat an appropriate point. It should also be mentioned that the connectingpassages 60 and ii are of slot-like form being elongated in the front toback direction of the common wall portion 42.

In utilizing this air circulating passage for a transfer of coolingeffect from the freezing section Ila to the storage section lib airenters the upper portion of the freezing section through the connectingpassage 6i and flows downwardly around the freezing chamber l2 throughthe air space 23. During this downward movement, the air is cooled bythe heat-exchange means and then flows through the connecting passage 66into the air passages 46 and 41 of the storage section lib. The cold airflowing through the passages 46 and 41 cools the storage chamber l3 andafter flowing through the passage 41 is discharged through the slot 43into the storage chamber so as to flow downwardly across the latter tofurther cool the same before being discharged through the return passage6i.

This circulation'of air between the freezing and storage sections liaand lib is produced in part by convection since the air being cooled inthe freezing section Ila tends-to descend toward the delivery passage 66and the air which cools the storage chamber l3 tends to rise in the airpassage 41. In addition to such a convection effect, the desiredcirculation of the air is obtained by use of a mechanical air impellingmeans which, in this instance, comprises a fan 34 located in theextension 32 of the storage chamber i3 and driven by an electric motor63 located in the machinery compartment II. The fan 64 is preferablyoperated intermittently in accordance with the temperature requirementsof the storage chamber l3 and. to this end, the motor II isautomatically controlled by a suitable thermostatic switch device 63located in the storage chamber.

The circulation of air between the freezing section Ho and the storagesection lib is preferably also controlled by the use of valve means ilocated in one or both of the connecting air passages 66 and II. Thevalve means for this purpose is here shown as comprising pairs of spacedelongated movable dampers 58, one such pair of dampers being located ineach of the connecting passages 50 and Although a single damper could beused in each passage it is desirable to use a pair of spaced dampersbecause when the dampers are closed, an air pocket is formed between thedampers and serves as an insulating medium for preventing the transferor leakage of heat or cold between the freezing and storage chambers.

The valves or dampers 58 are preferably shifted to open and closedpositions automatically in accordance with the cooling requirements ofthe storage chamber [3 and, for this purpose, the storage chamber isprovided with a thermally responsive valve actuating unit 59. The unit59 may be of any appropriate type or construction and, as here shown,may comprise a bellows or the like 60 which expands in response to anincrease in the temperature of the storage chamber l3 and a pivotedlever 6| which is swung upwardly by such expansion of the bellows. Acompression spring 62 is arranged to swing the lever 6| in the oppositedirection upon contraction of the bellows 60. The actuating lever Si isconnected with the pairs of dampers 58 by a suitable actuating rod 63,levers 54a and 64b and links 65 so that upon an increase in thetemperature of the storage chamber l3 the dampers 58 will beautomatically opened or partially opened and upon a predetermineddecrease in the temperature of the storage chamber I3 the dampers willbe automatically closed or partially closed.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, it willnow be understood that this invention provides improved refrigeratingapparatus of the dual temperature type in which the cooling effect of alow temperature section or freezing chamber is transmitted to a storagesection or chamber by a circulation of a transfer fluid therebetween. Itwill also be seen that in this improved refrigerating apparatus only asingle refrigerating unit is required and that this unit serves thefreezing chamber directly and the storage chamber indirectly since thecooling effect in the storage chamber is obtained from the coolingaction of the freezing chamber. Additionally it will be seen thatautomatically operating means is provided for circulating, andcontrolling the circulation of, the transfer fluid so that the desiredtemperature and cooling effect will be maintained in the storage chamberunder all conditions of use.

Although the improved refrigerating apparatus of this invention has beenillustrated and described herein in considerable detail, it will beunderstood of course, that the invention is not to be regarded as beinglimited correspondingly in scope but includes all changes andmodifications coming within the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In refrigerating apparatus, a housing having thermally insulatedoutside walls and containing a storage chamber and a freezing chamber,said housing also containing air circulating passages extending throughsaid storage compartment and around the outside of said freezingcompartment but inwardly of said outside walls, mechanical meansoperable to cause a circulation of air through said passages, saidhousing also having a thermally insulated common wall portion locatedbetween said storage chamber and said freezing chamber and said commonwall portion having certain of said passages therein, valve meanscontrolling the passages of said common wall portion comprising a pairof spaced valves for each of the last mentioned passages and the valvesof each pair being connected for substantially simultaneous movement soas to define a thermal insulating air pocket therebetween when thevalves are in their closed position and thermally responsive means foractuating said valve means.

2. In refrigerating apparatus, housing structure containing a pluralityof chambers one being a freezing chamber and another being a storagechamber, refrigerating means operable to cool said freezing chamber to abelow freezing temperature, means defining air passages in said housingproviding for a continuous circulating air flow in heat-exchangerelation to said freezing and storage chambers so as to utilize aportion of the cooling eflect of said freezing chamber for cooling saidstorage chamber, mechanical air impelling means operable to cause saidcirculating air flow, valve means in one of said passages forcontrolling the same and comprising a pair of spaced valves connectedfor substantially simultaneous movement so as to define a thermalinsulating air pocket therebetween when the valves are in their closedposition and actuating means for said valve means and being responsiveto a predetermined change in the temperature of said storagecompartment.

3. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, a thermally insulated housinghaving a freezing chamber section and a storage chamber section thereinin contiguous relation with a common wall extending therebetween, saidcommon wall having air passages therein for conducting air from saidfreezing chamber section to said storage chamber section and return, andthermally responsive.

valve means in said passages for controlling the flow of airtherethrough, said valve means comprising a pair of spaced valve membersin each of said passages and the valve members of each pair defining athermal insulating air pocket therebetween when the valve members are intheir closed position. 4. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, athermally insulated housing having inner and outer walls defining afreezing chamber with an air space between the walls and extending atleast part way around the outside of the freezing chamber, said housingalso containing a storage chamber and air passages for a circulation ofair between said air space and said storage chamber. said inner wallembodying a heat-exchange means for cooling said freezing chamber andthe air being circulated through said air space, mechanical meansoperable to cause said circulation of air, said passages comprising alower passage connecting one portion of said storage chamber with thelower portion of the air space of said freezing chamber for supplyingcold air from the latter to the storage chamber and an upper passage forreturning air from said storage chamber to the upper portion of said airspace, valve means controlling said upper and lower passages andcomprising a pair of spaced valve members in each of said passages andthe valve members of each pair being connected for substantiallysimultaneous movement so as to define a thermal insulating air pockettherebetween when the valves are in their closed position, and means foractuating said valve means in response to temperature changes in saidstorage chamber.

5. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, a housing having thermallyinsulated outer walls defining a freezing chamber and a storage chamberin contiguous relation to the freezing chamber, said freezing chamberhaving inner walls spaced from certain of said outer walls so as todefine therebetween an air space which extends at least part way aroundthe freezing chamber, said inner walls embodying a heat-exchange meansfor cooling both said freezing chamber and the air in said air space,inner walls in said storage chamber and spaced from certain of saidouter walls so as to define therebetween an air circulating passageextending across the bottom and upwardly along the side of said storagechamber and having its upper end in open communiction with the upperportion of the storage chamber, said housing also having connectingpassages therein one of which connects the lower portion of said storagechamber with the upper portion of said air space and another of whichconnects the lower end of said air circulating passage with the lowerportion of said air space, and mechanical air impelling means operableto cause a flow of air through said air space and through saidcirculating and connecting passages.

6. Refrigerating apparatus as defined in claim in which thermostaticmeans responsive to temperature changes in said storage chamber controlsthe operation of said air impelling means.

'1. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, a housing having thermallyinsulated outer walls defining a freezing chamber and a storage chamberin contiguous relation to the freezing chamber, said freezing chamberhaving inner walls spaced from certain of said outer walls 'so as todefine therebetween an air space which extends at least part way aroundthe freezing chamber,; said inner walls embodying a heat-exchange meansfor cooling both said freezing chamber and the air in said air space,inner walls in said storage chamber and spaced from certain of saidouter walls so as to define therebetween an air circulating passageextending across the bottom andupwardly along the side of said storagechamber and having its upper end in open communication with the upperportion of the storage chamber, said housing also having connectingpassages therein one of which connects the lower portion of said storagechamber with the upper portion of said air space and another of whichconnects the lower end of said air circulating passage with the lowerportion of said air space, mechanical air impelling means operable tocause a flow of air through said air space and through said circulatingand connecting passages, valve means controlling said connectingpassages, and means responsive to temperature changes in said storagechamber and adapted to cause automatic opening and closing of said valvemeans.

8. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, a housing having thermallyinsulated outer walls defining freezing and storage chambers incontiguous relation to each other and including a common wall portionbetween said chambers, said freezing chamber having inner walls spacedfrom certain of said outer walls so as to define therebetween an airspace which extends at least part way around the freezing chamber, saidinner walls embodying a heat-exchange means for cooling said freezingchamber and the air in said air space, said storage chamber having anextension recess in its bottom wall at a point adjacent said common wallportion, inner walls in said storage chamber and spaced from said bottomwall and a side wall thereof so as to define therebetween an aircirculating passage extending from said recess across the bottom andupwardly along the side of said storage chamber and having its upper endin open communication with the upper portion of the storage chamber,said common wall having connecting passages therein one of whichconnects the lower portion of said storage chamber with the upperportion of said air space and another of which connects said recess withthe lower portion of said air space, and mechanical air impelling meansadapted to .cause a flow of air through said air space and through saidcirculating and connecting passages and including a fan operable in saidrecess.

9. Refrigerating apparatus as defined in claim 8 in which said fan isdriven by an electric motor located outside of said storage chamber.

LEE B. GREEN.

REFERENCES CITED 4 The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,952,670 Heitman Mar. 2'7, 19341,979,638 Philipp Nov. 6, 1934 2,180,974 Atchison Nov. 21, 19392,188,526 Burden Jan. 30, 1940 2,346,287 Borgerd Apr. 11, 1944

